I think you have to use the early part of this season to see how much talent our youngsters truly have. At the trade deadline if it looks pretty grim, it probably makes sense to trade Aldridge for great picks or good rookies.
I really, really hate the idea of doing what the T-Wolves did with Garnett--squandering the best years of his career in the lottery. In 2005, Garnett was coming off a WCF run, and had a 28 PER. Minnesota could have had their pick of practically anything they wanted for him. That team misses the playoffs and never gets back again.
Aldridge is nowhere as good as Garnett was back then, but he still has a ton of value.
In hindsight, we should have traded guys like Oden, Roy, Sergio, Rudy, Outlaw and Randolph much sooner. It never seems like a great time to sell when the stock is still rising, but sometimes it is and you only see it afterward. That may be happening pretty shortly with Aldridge if our youngsters don't pan out.